Tag Archives: psychogeography

Walk into any good quality stationers and browse their journal shelf and you will doubtless find a notebook designated as a Travel Journal. This is for recording thoughts and reflections in places we visit, on holiday, or as part of a conscious effort to be ‘away from it all’, in places that aren’t part of our usual itinerary.

But what about journaling in places that are already familiar to us? That form part of the landscape we already call home? What can that do – to us? And to the place?

Yesterday I had the privilege of leading a group of journal writers through a short workshop in response to our surroundings. These were Old Town Gardens in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK. We used the Bowls Clubhouse as our base – whose members could not have been more accommodating or welcoming – and enjoyed an hour and a half of companionable journaling and reflective discussion.

First, everyone was invited to choose an inquiry from our specially created washing line:

Then we all embarked on a meditative stroll around the park, allowing our bodies and our minds to slow down and notice what we notice – using our senses, paying attention to whatever caught our eye, picking up “objets trouves” along the way, seeing how our perceptions were affected by the inquiry we had selected – or not! Sometimes called psycho-geography, this is a way of seeing how our environment affects us, how we interact with it and what we take away from it physically, emotionally and psychologically.

Upon our return we enjoyed a few minutes writing about our experience – what we noticed, what memories were evoked, what was important to us about the place, what connects us to it, what feelings and emotions arose, what insights occured.

And then we shared something of our reflections in a respectful and open discussion.

Everyone went away feeling completely relaxed and connected – to each other, and with renewed fondness for the place. We all experienced something of the power of community journaling, and glimpsed the potential of how this type of shared mindfulness, through the medium of reflective writing, might help us re-shape our relationship with the environment, and with the places we each call home.

If you’re in Swindon, Wiltshire this July through to October and you feel like spicing up your reflective writing, discovering new creative inspiration and meeting new friends try out these 3 journaling opportunities to give your creativity a boost and ease you into the darker months.

In July and September it’s time to explore what place means to you with two free workshops, as part of Town Gardens’ Little Big Festival, guiding you towards a new reflective and artistic appreciation of your environment.

Then from September to the end of October embark on your own voyage of reflective self-discovery with a guided series of workshops exploring the exercises in The Journal Writer’s Handbook. Treat yourself to the very special feeling of companionable, stove-side journaling at Lower Shaw Farm. It’ll be just the thing to keep the autumnal chill at bay.